Goat is one of the most widely domesticated animals and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that there are 720 million goats farmed worldwide, particularly in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
It's estimated that 60% of red meat eaten globally is goat yet in Britain, despite a healthy market for goat's milk and cheese, relatively little goat meat is eaten, with curried goat, a staple of Caribbean, African and Middle Eastern cuisine, the most familiar dish.
The Milking Goat Association (MGA), which represents the dairy goat industry, says that there are 40-45,000 goats in Britain producing 34 million litres of milk a year. Some 30,000 male (billy) goats are slaughtered in the UK each year as a by-product of this industry and only a fraction are reared for meat. Are we in Britain wasting a source of delicious meat? And is eating goat both good for us and the wider environment?
What does goat meat taste like?
Many top chefs rave about goat meat and the general consensus seems to be that it has a sweet and earthy flavour, similar to lamb but not as sweet as beef. It can sometimes be tough and 'gamey', hence the propensity to cook it long and slow in spicy stews.
How healthy is goat meat?
It's generally agreed that goat meat is a good source of protein, iron, vitamin B12, zinc, and potassium. It’s also low in total fat and saturated fat compared with other forms of red meat. However, the World Health Organisation, NHS and several cancer charities state that consuming red meat can increase the risk of certain cancers, particularly bowel and pancreatic cancer. Goat meat is not immune from this warning.
What environmental impact do goats have?
As for goats' impact on the environment, they thrive in scrubby, marginal land such as tough mountainous terrain. In the UK they are commonly used in conservation grazing where their nibbling, tearing and browsing can provide habitat for other species. For instance, goats are used within Avon Gorge in Bristol to graze away saplings that threaten to smother the rare limestone grassland and wildflowers found there. Elsewhere, such as on Great Orme in North Wales, semi-wild herds of goats roam craggy uplands.
But while some wild and conservation grazing goats do end up in the food chain, farmed goats mostly live very different lives. According to the MGA, commercial goat farms average 700 milking goats and “goats are not suited to cold and wet conditions and most of them are housed under shelter. They are not constrained in stalls, but are free to roam around in familiar groups, on dry straw bedding... while protected from the vagaries of the British climate”. This is quite different to most sheep farming where flocks are reared outdoors for at least some of the year.
There is no doubt that goat is appearing on more and more restaurant menus and there are numerous suppliers online if you wish to buy fresh goat meat to try. Perhaps it won't be long before it becomes a regular on supermarket shelves, somewhere between the beef and the lamb.
Main image credit: Getty
